Control means for pusher elements of rolling mill skid beds



M. LANGEN Nov. 7, 1944.

CONTROL IIEANS FOR PUSHER ELEMENTS OF ROLLING HILL SKID-'BEDS Filed Oct.14, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 m lhlllll Ilmllllh Rm M 06 E T N N N R W 0 mym m Nov. 7, 1944. M. LANGEN 2,352,208-

' CONTROL [BANS FOR PUSHER ELEMENTS OF ROLLING HILL SKID-BEDS Filed Oct.14, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MA 7'7'H/A5 LANG N BY I i ATTORNEYSM. LANGEN Nov. 7, 1944.

CONTROL MEANS FOR PUSHER ELEMENTS OF ROLLING HILL SKID-BEDS Filed on,14, 194: 5 Sheets-Sheet a;

INVENTOR MA TTH/AS LANGE N @1124 ATTO R N EYS Nov. 7, 1944. M. LANGEN2,362,208

CONTROL MEANS FOR PUSHER ELEMENTS OF ROLLING HILL SKID-BEDS Filed on.14. 1943 s Sheets-Sheet 4 17 p @lgvb'. 7w.

I INVENTOR o MATT/#45 ZANGEN ATTO R N EYS M. LANGEN Nov; 7, 1944.

CONTROL MEANS FOR PUSHER ELEMENTS OF ROLLING MILL SKID-BEDS Filed Oct.14, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 E I[ l Q 1i H 11K E C s I g /r\ l w FII hf Z II 0 x MI: I C 6 awxfiwa A V Z INVENTOR MA 7 TH/A 5 Z .4 NGEN a ATTORNEYSPatented Nov. 7, 1944 CONTROL MEANS FOR PUSHER ELEMENTS F ROLLING MILLSKID BEDS Matthias Langen. Parkstone, England, assignor to The LoewyEngineering Company Limited, London, England, a corporation of GreatBritain Application October 14, 1943, Serial No. 506,184 In GreatBritain October 15, 1942 7 Claims.

This invention relates to control means for carriage-mounted pusherelements which-serve to transport billets, bars, rods or other articlesacross the skid-bed of a rolling mill installation or from or onto aroller table or other conveyor means, and it relates in particular tothat type of pusher element which was pivotally supported in thecarriage, a pair of abutments being provided therein by means of whichthe pusher element could be prevented from swinging in either directionwhen in contact with one of the abut ments. By disengaging the pusherelement from contact with one abutment and establishing at the same timecontact with the other abutment, the direction of carriage movement inwhich the pusher element could act as a transport means was reversed.

The above arrangement enabled the pusher elements, when meeting abillet, bar or other article on their advance in one direction, to shiftsuch article across the skid-bed or from or onto a roller table, as thecase might be. On their advance in the opposite direction, however, thepusher elements would be tilted over into an ineffective position belowthe skid-bed by any article supported thereon, but as soon as the pusherelements had passed underneath that article, they would swing back andresume their upright position, by means of a counterweight,

In a more specific type of pusher element, change of the position of itspivotal support within its carriage, and thereby change of the abutmentcontacts, was effected automatically at preselected points of thecarriage travel by means of rotary cams mounted on a shaft in thecarriage and co-operating with stops positioned in the path of thecarriage.

In the above-mentioned known type of pusher element, engagement of thecams with their stops could be maintained during the beginning of thecam-shaft rotation only, whilst the remainder of the rotation had to becarried out without positive control and solely under the infiuence ofthe momentum gathered during the comparatively short period of positivecontrol. This was not a very reliable method of operation. Suflicientmomentum could only be acquired if the cams were made to impinge ontheir respective stops with considerable force, and the consequentviolent impact resulted in rapid wear, and sometimes breakage, of thecomponents of the carriage. When the momentum was insuflicient, thecamshaft would stop half-way inits rotation and the pusher elementmounted on that camshaft would not take up its efiective posit-ion. Suchincidents were liable to interfere considerably with the smooth workingof the tramsport and the flow of material through the plant.

, The invention refers in particular to a construction of this typewherein the pusher elements were loosely mounted on crankpins and thecams were mounted on the crankshaft so that a change of position of thepusher element in the carriage was brought about by a rotation of thecrankshaft. The invention is, however, equally applicable to other formsof pusher elements.

The invention has for its object the provision of an improved controlmeans for carriagemounted pusher elements for rolling mill skidbeds,free from these drawbacks and with additional advantageous features.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide control meansfor a pusher element of the type described which is positive-actingthroughout its movement.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide control meanswhich can be arranged at any point along the path of the carriages andwhich can be selectively brought into play in accordance withrequirements.

Further, by providing additional abutments in a carriage and by omittingothers, it is possible for a pusher element to be prevented from, or

to be set free for, swinging over in both directions of rotation bychanging its position in the carriage, the change-over from one positionto another being effected, as before, by rotation of the camshaft, andit is an object of the invention to provide control means which can beused irrespective of the arrangement of the abutments.

The invention will be described in detail by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are a side elevation and plan view respectively of acarriage with a pusher element mounted therein and adapted to beoperated by control means according to the invention, the guideways forthe carriage and other details of the skid-bed being omitted here forthe sake of clarity.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the carriage along theline 33 of Fig. 1, showing also the guideways of the carriage and a setof stops for the reversal of the pusher element.

Figs. 4 and 5 show in a more diagrammatical way the relative'arrangement of these stops and the cams co-acting therewith, Fig. 4being a sec tion seen in the direction of the line 4-4 of Fig.

3, and Fig. 5 being a section seen in the direceach position.

Figs. 8a and 8b show the two positions ofa pusher element in a carriagehaving an abutment at one side of the pusher element only, so that thelatter will transport material in one direction when in one position,and not when in the other position.

Figs, 9a and 9b show the two positions of a pusher element in a carriagehaving two abutments at one side and none at the other, so that thepusher element will transport material in both directions when in oneposition and not when in the other position.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating various working positions, A, B, C, D,E, F and G, of a carriage and pusher element relative to a skid-bed andto billets being transported across the skidbed.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I0 is a carriage which is adaptedto be moved in opposite directions along guideways l l of a skid-bed bymeans of ropes l2 or the like attached to the ends of the carriage. Theskid-bed will comprise a plurality of such carriages adapted to be movedalong in unison in parallel guideways II.

Supported in bearings l3 located in the carriage side-plates is acrankshaft l4. The crankshaft has a crankpin IS on which pusher elementI6 is loosely mounted. Each pusher element consists of a finger l1 and acounterweight l8 which tends to keep the finger in the upright positionin which it projects above the materialsupporting surface of theskid-bed so as to be effective as a transport means. Abutments l9 andare provided at suitable places in the carriage to prevent the pusherelement l6 from tilting over. Each abutment is adapted to cooperate withone of the faces 2| or 22 provided on the sides of the counterweight I8.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 7a and 7b, the pusher element I 6 isprevented from tilting to the left when abutment I9 is in contact withface 2| and thus made effective for transport towards the right, and itis prevented from tilting to the right when abutment 20 is in contactwith face 22 and thus made effective for transport towards the left.

To change over the pusher element Hi from one position to the other, itis merely necessary to rotate crankshaft l4 about 180. This rotation iseffected automatically at pre-selected points in the path of thecarriage ID by means of stops 23 and 24 which are adapted to co-act withearns 25 and 26 arranged at opposite ends of the crankshaft M, in amanner to be presently described and with reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

Stop 23 can be retracted through an opening in the guideway ll into anidle posit-ion outside the path of the carriage III as shown in Fig. 3.To this end, the stop 23 is mounted at the end of an arm 2'! which ispivotally mounted on a pin 28. Arm 2'! has an extension 23 to which apull-rod 30, or any other actuating mechanism,

is attached.

As can be seen in Fig. 6, all the stop 23 which are arranged atcorresponding points of parallel guideways can be actuatedsimultaneously by a common pull-rod 30. Movement of pull-rod 30 can beby means of a crank mechanism, part of which is shown at 3| and which isdriven by a motor 32 or by any other uitable means. The pull-rod 30 andmotor 32 or any other suitable means for retracting the stops 23 can beoperated by remote control.

Stop 24 is fixedly secured to guideway H by means of a bolt 33 or thelike.

Both stops 23 and 24 have oppositely inclined lateral faces andhorizontal tops over which the earns 25 and 28 will wipe when cominginto action. The stop 23 is slightly larger than the stop 24. I

Cam'25 which co-operates with the retractable stop 23 is in the shape ofa rectangular block centrally supported on crankshaft l4 so that it canbe said to consist of two arms 25a and 2512 (Fig. 4) arrangeddiametrically opposite the crankshaft axis. Cam 26 extends to one sideof the crankshaft only and is curved symmetrically with respect to itsradial axis (Fig. 5). Both cams are so mounted on the crankshaft thattheir radial axes form a right-angle, the normal position being that inwhich the axis of cam 25 is vertical, and that of cam 26 horizontal.

When carriage III is moved along its guideways H, and assuming furtherthat retractable stop 23 is in its forward position in which it projectsinto the path of the carriage, the lower arm 25a of cam 25 will strikeagainst one of the inclined lateral faces of stop 23. Crankshaft I4 ishereby rotated by whereby cam 25 assumes a horizontal position and cam26 is moved in a vertical downward position as shown by broken lines inFig. 5. In its latter position, cam 26 is ready to be engaged on furthermovement of carriage H! by one of the inclined lateral faces of stop 24,whereby crankshaft l4 will be rotated by another 90.

At the end of this rotation, cam 25 will be again in a vertical positionand cam 26 in a horizontal position, with the difference that the tip ofcam 26 points in the opposite direction to that in which it pointedbefore.

Rotation of crankshaft i4 by is now complete, and contact withcounterweight I8 has been transferred from abutment l9 to abutment 20and the direction in which the pusher element I 6 is effective as atransport means has been reversed. During all this time, the finger IThas been held in its upright position due to the action of counterweightl8 (see Figs. 7a and 7b).

Rotation of crankshaft l4 in the opposite direction and transfer ofcontact from abutment 20 back to abutment I 5 is efi'ected in a man-y rsimilar to that previously described when the carriage I0 is moved inthe opposite direction, with the only difference that in this caseopposite lateral faces of stops 23 and 24 and'of cam 26 and the otherarm 25b of block-shaped cam 25 will come into mutual engagement.

As will be seen from the foregoing, the crankshaft will be undercontinuous positive control throughout its rotation, due to thesuccessive co-operation between stops 23 and 24 with earns 25 and 26respectively. It is further to be noted that one and the same set ofstops and cams is used for rotation in opposite directions.

2,so2,2oa 3 Should the operator inadvertently move the carriage" in awrong direction, the block shaped camii will come in contact with theinclined surface of its corresponding retractable stop 23 and thus pushthat stop aside into the ineffective position shown in Fig. 6, wherebydamage to the parts of the carriage control is avoided.

Owing to the disappearing feature of the stop which acts during thefirst part of the crankshaft rotation, it is possible to arrange stopsat any point along the path of the carriage wherever reversal of thedirection of transport might i be required at one time or another. Askid -bed with the control means according to the invention can,therefore, be easily adapted to a great variety of different transportconditions.

Another important feature of the invention is that the retractable stopcan be operated by remote control, which makes it possible to installthese control means at the general control pulpit of the mill.

Whilst Figs. 7a and 7b show how the invention can be applied to acarriage which has an abutment at each side of the crankshaft axis, eachabutment preventing the pusher element from tilting over in one of twoopposite directions, Figs. 8a and 8b and 9a and 9b show the applicationof the invention to carriages on which the abutments are distributedsomewhat differently.

Figs. 8a and 8b show a carriage wherein an abutment is provided at theright side of the crankshaft axis only, so that the pusher element l6will be prevented from tilting over to the left when at this side, butwill be free to tilt over in both directions when shifted to the leftside of the crankshaft axis.

Figs. 9a and 9b show a carriage in which an additional abutment I isarranged at the right side of the crankshaft axis which abutment isadapted to co-operate with 9. lug l2l projecting at the right side ofthe pusher element. The left side of the crankshaft axis is free fromabutments, the same as in the case of the carriage according to Figs. 8aand 817. When the pusher element of Fig. 9a is in its right position itwill be prevented from tilting over in both directions by the combinedaction of abutments 20 and I20; when the pusher element is moved to theleft position it will be free to be tilted over in both directions (Fig.9b).

Reversal of the pusherelement of the carriages shown in Figs. 8a and 8band 9a and 9b can be effected by the same control means. consisting ofstops 23 and 24 and cams 25 and 26, as in the case of carriages such asare shown in Figs. 7a

and 7b whichhave one abutment each at either side of the crankshaftaxis.

What I claim is:

1. A rolling mill skid-bed having a plurality of carriages movable inunison in parallel guideways, means for moving said carriages in oppsite directions, each carriage containing a pusher element, a pivotalsupport for said pusher element, and control means for displacing saidpivotal support from one position to another inside said carriage, saidcontrol means comprising a rotary shaft mounted in said'carriage andconnected with said pivotal support so that a rotary movement of saidshaft will cause the displacement cf said pivotal support, cams on saidshaft adapted to come successively into action to cause such a rotarymovement, each cam turning said shaft through a portion of the rotarymovement required for the displacement of said site directions, eachcarriage containing a pusher element for shifting material across saidskidbed, a pivotal support for said pusher element adapted to take upone of two different positions inside said carriage whereby the mannerin I which the pusher element is effective as a transport means isaltered, and control means for displacing said pusher element from oneposition to another, said control means comprising a rotary shaft insaid carriage connected with said pivotal support so that rotation ofsaid shaft through a pre-determined angle will cause the pivotal supportto be displaced from one position to the other, two cams on said shaftadapted to come successively into action, each cam turning said shaftthrough a portion of its aforesaid rotation, and two stops arranged inthe path of the carriage to actuate said cams successively, each stopco-operating with one of said cams.

3. A rolling mill skid-bed having a plurality of carriages movable inunison in parallel guideways, means for moving said carriages inopposite directions, each carriage containing a pusher element forshifting material across said skidbed, a pivotal support for said pusherelement adapted to take up two different positions inside said carriage,and control means for displacing said pivotal support from one positionto another, said control means comprising a rotary shaft in the carriageconnected with the pivotal support so that rotation of said shaftthrough a pre-determined angle in opposite directions will cause thepivotal support to be moved from one position to another or back, camson said shaft adapted to come successively into action, and stopsarranged in the path of the carriage co-cperating with said cams toatcuate the same successively, said cams and said stops being ofsymmetrical shape so that they can rotate said shaft in oppositedirections.

4. A rolling mill skid-bed having a plurality of carriages movable inunison in parallel guideways. means for moving said carriages inopposide directions, each carriage containing a pusher element forshifting material across said skidbed, a pivotal support for said pusherelement adapted to take up one of two different positions inside saidcarriage whereby the manner in which the pusher element is effective asa transport means is altered, and control means for displacing saidpusher element from one position to another, said control meanscomprising a rotary shaft in'said carriage connected with said pivotalsupport so that rotation of said shaft through a pre-determined anglewill cause the pivotal support to be displaced from one position to theother, two cams on said shaft adapted to come successively into action,each cam turning said shaft through a portion of its aforesaid rotation.and two stops arranged in the path of the carriage to actuate saidcamssuccessively, each stop co-operating with one of said cams, the two camsbeing so arranged on said shaft that their radial axes form aright-angle.

5. A rolling mill skid-bed having a plurality of carriages movable inunison in parallel guideways, means for moving said carriages inopposite directions, each carriage containing a pusher element forshifting material across said skidbed, a pivotal support for said pusherelement adapted to take up one of two different positions inside saidcarriage wherebythe manner in which the pusher element is efiective as atransport means is altered, and control means for displacing said pusherelement from one position to another, said control means comprising arotary shaft in said carriage connected with said pivotal support sothat rotation of said shaft thropgh a predetermined angle will cause thepivotal support to be displaced from one position to the other, two camson said shaft adapted to come successively into action, each cam turningsaid shaft through a portion of its aforesaid rotation, and two stopsarranged in the path of the carriage to actuate said cams successively,each stop co-operating with one or said cams, and means mounting thestop which comes first into operation so thatit may be retracted into anineffective position.

6. A rolling mill skid-bed having a plurality of carriages movable inunison in parallel guideways, means for moving said carriages inopposite directions, each carriage containing a pusher element forshifting material across said skidbed, a pivotal support for said pusherelement adapted to take up one of two diiferent positions inside saidcarriage whereby the manner in which the pusher element-is effective asa transport means is altered, and control means for displacing saidpusher element from one position to another, said control meanscomprising a rotary shaft in said carriage connected with said pivotalsupport so that rotation of said shaft through a predetermined anglewill cause the pivotal support to be displaced from one position to theother, two cams on said shaft adapted to come successively into action,each cam turning said shaft through a portion of its rotary movement,two stops arranged in the path of the carriage, each stop co-operatingwith one of said cams, and remote controlled means for retracting thestop which is adapted to come first into action.

'1. A rolling mill skid-bed having a plurality of carriages movable inunison in parallel guideways, means for moving said carriages inopposite directions, each carriage containing a pusher element pivotallysupported in its carriage, a pair of abutments adapted to make contactselectively with said pusher element so as to prevent the latter fromtilting over, whereby it is made capable of acting as a transport. meansin one direction of carriage-movement, and control means fortransferring the contact-making position of the pusher element from oneabutment to the other, whereby the direction in which the pusher elementis effective as a transport means is reversed, said control meanscomprising a number of cams rotatably mounted in said carriages and anequal number of stops at pro-selected points of the carriage path forco-operation with said cams, said cams and said stops being so arrangedthat they come successively into operation to shift the pusher elementpositively through successive portions of its movement from one abutmentto the other.

MATTHIAS LANGEN.

